Anti-abortion activists target local clinic

Anti-abortion activists hold a prayer vigil outside the Pilgrim Medical Center on Bloomfield Avenue as part of the 40 Days for Life campaign.

They say that they're praying for everyone that sets foot in the Pilgrim Medical Center, Montclair's only abortion clinic.

They're praying for the doctors and staff. They're praying for the women who enter the building seeking an abortion. And most of all, they're praying for the unborn babies that they claim are destroyed there.

On Sunday, about 40 people of mixed ages, genders and ethnic backgrounds gathered at the Social Security Building on Bloomfield Avenue, directly across the street from the clinic. The group took up signs reading "Pray to End Abortion" and "Choose Life," and lined up facing the street, holding up their signs to passing traffic. One small cadre burned incense and dressed in long, gray robes, looking like medieval friars. As passing pedestrians slowed to see what was going on, the activists began to recite Our Fathers and Hail Marys using a portable microphone and amplifier. Taking turns, the group began to pray quietly, eyes down to the ground, somber looks on their faces.

If it was a protest, it was certainly low-key.

But "protest" is not how Chris Flaherty would like to describe the day's events. It was more like a "vigil," the pro-life activist was careful to say. She mentioned that vigil participants tend to interact more with people passing by the clinic rather than the clinic's staff. And there is a large emphasis on nonviolent, peaceful communication whenever they do get a chance to talk.

"It's not adversarial... we want to show love to everyone," she said.

But that doesn't mean that emotions are running low.

"Abortion hurts women and it hurts their families," Flaherty told the Times, her eyes flashing with an energetic fervor. "This is a pretty horrific place. It's a grisly business. They're dismembering unborn children."

The Pilgrim Medical Center did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment for this article.

The Montclair prayer vigil is part of a larger, nationwide anti-abortion effort called 40 Days for Life, where organizers ask participants to devote pray for one hour a week at a local abortion facility, Flaherty explained. The 40 Days campaign has been taking place in Montclair for two years according to Flaherty, and has attracted around 150 participants in 2013. This year, participants have been conducting sporadic vigils since Sept. 25.

Showing the Times some statistics, Flaherty suggested the demand for abortion in Montclair is rising:

• 450 abortions took place at the clinic over a six-week period in the fall of 2012.

• 672 abortions took place during Lent of 2012

• 728 abortions took place during Lent of 2013

When asked how these numbers were compiled, Flaherty said that the number of "abortions" represented the number of women that they saw enter the clinic over each time period.